Now Available! Inspired by a book of tattered piano music I found in an antique store, I createed a series of Moonflower Nocturnes. I love the patina of the worn pages and the little glimpses of a moment in time preserved by the penciled-in markings on the music. Each piece features a night-blooming moonflower and…
Initially inspired by the combination of earthy hues, my Cradle the Earth series eventually transformed into a reflection of my deep concern for our current climate crisis. The focal point of each piece incorporates natural, found, and/or recycled objects, while the layers of collage represent our interconnectedness to the earth. As I share each piece…
This series grew organically out of my love for the colors and materials. I adore shades of blue, especially indigo! I began by creating six collages using a limited group of mono printed papers and fabric. I assembled the collages to take along on our visit with my parents in Florida last year. We were…
While finishing up this series I struggled to find a title and asked around for ideas. My good friend Katie suggested Seek Your Passion. That little phrase really stood out to me and speaks to some of my life experiences recently. I believe God gives each of us spiritual gifts and a way of belonging…
A couple of months after beginning my work on this series my very dear sister-in-law, Kathryn, passed away unexpectedly. Her death and a subsequent family crisis began a long creative drought for me. For many months afterward I felt unable to even enter the studio, let alone create anything. These were shelved for a considerable…
For me the idea of a daydream illustrates the mental state of mind necessary for creating. An enigmatic shift occurs when your brain is able to detach itself from the stresses and concerns of the more practical, physical world. Transitioning into this dream-like state frees up your brain to fully focus on other matters. Both…
This morning I drove my son to school through the muddled, midwinter streets in east St. Paul. The area has seen better days and I often find it disheartening, especially in this gray season. Lately, the melancholy of winter and the dismal state of our current world have pulled on me. It is bitter cold…
In my last post I mentioned discovering a new way to think about God’s gift of creativity while reading through the beginning of Genesis. I focused on the premise that God is creative (adjective) because I’d realized that this aspect of His character must be important since it’s one of the first things we learn…
For me, creativity is deeply connected with my Christian faith. I believe that we’re each fearfully and wonderfully made by God, who loves us, values us, and gives us each unique gifts and talents. Creativity is one of those gifts. I realize now, however, that I’ve unconsciously assumed creativity is a special, elusive gift that…
Last fall I started working on this piece. My initial half-baked plan was to create a larger mixed media artwork that incorporated embroidery thread and beads on an acrylic skin. An acrylic skin is just dried layers of acrylic paint or medium. If you paint on a surface that the acrylic doesn’t like to adhere…